THE House Committee on Transportation has agreed to create a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate five pending House Bills (HB) aimed at achieving better driver education in the Philippines.
The five bills agreed by the House during a committee hearing on Feb. 5 are as follows: HB 505, entitled the “Roadworthy Driving Seminar for All Drivers Act”; HB 1191, entitled the “Driver Education Act,” and the related HB 1956; HB 3196, entitled the “Mandatory Re-Education Program for All Motor Vehicle Drivers Once Every Five Years”; and HB 4122, entitled the “Professional Truck Driver’s Education Act.”
Through these bills, the respective authors seek to address the most common cause of road accidents here in the Philippines: human error. This is based on data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS).
Data from 2018, for instance, showed that road-related incidents that year resulted in a daily average of 49 injuries and one fatality.
If and when the TWG does consolidate these five bills, we may be looking at a more tedious driver’s license application process. On the positive side, a properly implemented driver education program could lead to fewer accidents on the road. (topgear.com.ph)
